memeorandum: Storm Clouds on the Fourth of July (Roger L Simon/Pajamas Media)

6:45 PM ET, July 4, 2009

Top Items:

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

It Always Has Been About Trig — I waited a whole day before posting about the Sarah Palin resignation. Well, not a whole day, but longer than almost everyone else in the blogosphere. Here's my take as of this moment in time, subject to change: — I don't know why Sarah Palin resigned …

Discussion: Conservative Political Report, Riehl World View, Piece of Work In Progress, Lawyers, Guns and Money, theblogprof, Polimom, Too, KN@PPSTER, Confederate Yankee, The Reaction, Gateway Pundit and The Gun Toting Liberal

CBS News:

Palin A “Shooting Star Crashing To Earth”? — GOP Strategist Ed Rollins Says Her Resignation Hurts Any 2012 White House Run She Might Be Mulling — (CBS) If Sarah Palin thinks quitting the Alaskan statehouse is going to help a 2012 presidential campaign which some pundits speculate she's mulling …

Discussion: NewsMax.com, Little Green Footballs, Top of the Ticket and Associated Press

Bruce Reed / Slate:

In Sarah Palin's GOP, the leaders keep quitting and the troubles don't. — “It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down [and] plod along,” Sarah Palin said Friday, in an attempt to suggest that serving her full term as governor would add to the nation's apathy.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Ezra Klein, BitsBlog, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Politics Channel and AndrewHalcro.com

Phoebe Connelly / American Prospect:
SARAH PALIN INSISTS YOU PAY ATTENTION TO THE INTERNET ON HOLIDAY.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias and Talking Points Memo

Fox News:
Options Abound for Palin After Alaska Governorship

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Midwest Voices and NY Daily News

Matthew Cooper / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Three Theories of Palin's Resignation

Discussion: ProfessorBainbridge.com

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
A few additional and hopefully final thoughts on Sarah Palin

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Macsmind, Whiskey Fire, The New Ledger, Washington Wire, Obama Foodorama, Sadly, No!, NewsBusters.org, The Confluence, Pajamas Media, The Huffington Post and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Rachel Sklar / The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin, You Owe The Media An Apology

Discussion: The American Scene, No Sheeples Here!, Open Left, And So it Goes in Shreveport, The Caucus, American Street, Guardian, The New Ledger, Pajamas Media and The Other McCain

Max Blumenthal / Blogs and Stories:
Did a Scandal Sink the U.S.S. Palin?

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page, Weekly Standard, Crooks and Liars, The Confluence, MoJo Blog Posts, TalkLeft, Pam's House Blend and The Reaction

Ceci Connolly / Washington Post:

Advocacy Groups Should Halt Attacks on Moderate Democrats, Obama Says — Advocates Should Turn Attention to Promoting Legislation, President Says — President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Corrente, Hullabaloo, D-Day, C.O.T.O., The New Republic, The Impolitic, The Rhetorican, TPMDC and Campaign Silo

Jane Hamsher / Campaign Silo:

Will MoveOn Cave To Obama's Pressure? — MoveOn has been running strong ads in Louisiana against Mary Landrieu, who — as Chris Bowers notes — is against anything resembling a public plan. — Obama wants them to stop: … But Maxine Waters says the Landrieu campaign has been very effective, and encourages MoveOn to keep going.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Matthew Continetti / Weekly Standard:

More on Palin — I spoke to a few friends in Alaskan Republican politics yesterday. None of them had a clue that Palin was going to resign her office, and none has any idea what her motivation might be in doing so. It was widely assumed in Alaska that Palin wouldn't run for a second term.

Discussion: Associated Press

The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin Resignation Speech: FULL VIDEO, TEXT

Discussion: PoliBlog, KN@PPSTER, marbury, Politics Daily, Gateway Pundit, Open Left and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Los Angeles Times:
Sarah Palin's exit as Alaska governor stuns, puzzles observers

Discussion: The Swamp, Megan McArdle, New York Times and Washington Post

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:

READERS ARE SENDING PHOTOS FROM TEA PARTY PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. Here's one from Perrysburgh, Ohio, sent by reader Chris Zarecki, who reports about 3,000 people attending. — Here's one from Bel Air, Maryland, sent by reader Maya Leonetti. The Debt Star makes another appearance!

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Founding Bloggers, Michelle Malkin and theblogprof

Jared M. Rhoads / The Lucidicus Project:
July 4th Tea Party

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Tea Party Movement Loses Steam

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Mahablog and Democratic Strategist

Randy Barnett / The Volokh Conspiracy:

July 5th Oration by Frederick Douglass: Tomorrow I am hoping to attend a recreation of Frederick Douglass's Independence Day oration at his home in Anacostia, DC. … Today, historian Jonathan Bean has a nice essay on National Review Online entitled, The Party of Lincoln, and of Douglass …

Discussion: Sentencing Law and Policy and Opinio Juris

Rachel L. Swarns / New York Times:

‘Family Friendly’ White House Is Less So for Aides — WASHINGTON — When President Obama talks up the family-friendly vibe at the White House — the nightly family dinners, the flexibility to attend school presentations and join impromptu plunges in the pool with his girls — his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, sets him straight.

Discussion: Writes Like She Talks and Weekly Standard

Heather / Crooks and Liars:

Matalin Thinks Palin is Brilliant—Rollins and Gergen Think She's Toast — You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player! — DOWNLOADS: (188) — PLAYS: (1348) — What a surprise. Neocon and former Cheney advisor Mary Matalin thinks …

Discussion: Hot Air and WhiteHouse.gov Blog

Roger L Simon / Pajamas Media:

Storm Clouds on the Fourth of July — I don't think I've ever seen my country so divided and depressed on the Fourth of July in my lifetime and - no matter what Bob Dylan dreamed up - I'm not young, forever or otherwise. That includes the Vietnam War period when both sides at least …

Discussion: Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Power Line and Classical Values

Victoria Gill / BBC:

Honeybee mobs overpower hornets — Honeybees mount a very effective mobbing defence — Honeybee hordes use two weapons - heat and carbon dioxide - to kill their natural enemies, giant hornets. — Japanese honeybees form “bee balls” - mobbing and smothering the predators.

WhiteHouse.gov Blog:

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Celebrates Independence Day and the American Spirit — WASHINGTON - In his weekly address, President Barack Obama celebrated the unyielding American spirit that has defined our past and will lead us into the future. Even as we face daunting challenges …

Discussion: Cato @ Liberty, Obama Foodorama and Daily Kos

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama summons spirit of independence

Discussion: Macsmind, Villainous Company and The Politico

Ashley Seager / Guardian:

Costa Rica greenest, happiest country — Latin American nation tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizens — Costa Rica is the greenest and happiest country in the world, according to a new list that ranks nations by combining measures …

Discussion: Fausta's Blog

Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times:

Tensions mount as Honduras defies OAS — Supporters of the new government, lead by Roberto Micheletti, rallied at the presidential palace as the Honduran army maintained control. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya is set to return to the country over the weekend; Micheletti has threatened to arrest him.

Discussion: Not Tucker Carlson and A Gut Reaction